Three UC Law faculty honored with prestigious All-University awards

Michael E. Solimine, the Donald P. Klekamp Professor of Law, has received the Mrs. A.B. “Dolly” Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching—one of the university’s honors for instructional achievement. A nationally and internationally recognized authority on the American civil litigation system, Professor Solimine co-authored five books and over 70 scholarly works. His research has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Supreme Court of Iowa, and other courts, and he is widely regarded for his expertise in appellate litigation, federal and state court structures, and judicial decision-making.

Professor Solimine teaches courses in civil procedure, federal courts, conflicts of laws, and complex litigation. Before joining UC Law, he practiced law at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur and clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice.

A. Christopher Bryant, Rufus King Professor of Constitutional Law, has earned the George Barbour Award for Good Faculty-Student Relations. Known for both scholarly impact and classroom excellence, Professor Bryant has published extensively on constitutional law, particularly on separation of powers, judicial review, and legislative authority. His work appears in top journals including the Cornell Law Review and George Washington Law Review.

In addition to co-authoring several books, including the recently released Learning Constitutional Law: Powers, Structure, and the Fourteenth Amendment (2024), he has written 13 essays for the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States. Professor Bryant is also contributing a new chapter on disinformation and international law in the “Nordic Perspectives on the International Legal Regulation of Cyberspace” scheduled for publication later this year.

Before joining UC Law, he taught at William S. Boyd School of Law and served as assistant senate legal counsel for the U.S. Senate. He also clerked for the Honorable James L. Buckley of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

From his earliest days as a teacher, Professor Bryant has sought to encourage his students in the cultivation of their own intellectual curiosity and independence. To those ends, he has proudly served as the faculty advisor to the College’s chapter of the Federalist Society.  Mindful of the myriad challenges students face, he has also attempted, especially in the last decade, to support enduring student wellness in numerous ways, including by serving as a group facilitator for the Mind-Body Skills Program as it expanded to the law school from the College of Medicine.

Attorney and UC Law alumna Sarah Topy has been named the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award recipient for her outstanding contributions to legal education student impact. As Assistant General Counsel at Procter & Gamble, Topy specializes in advertising, trademark, and regulatory law. At UC Law, she teaches a well-regarded course on In-House Counsel, providing students with practical insights from the frontlines of corporate law.

Beyond the classroom, Topy gives back through her service on several boards, including the Immigration and Refugee Law Center, the Ohio Innocence Project, and Bigger Than Sneakers. As a student, she held leadership roles with the Student Legal Education Committee and served as Executive Editor of the University of Cincinnati Law Review.